


The Butterfly Effect

by moeblobmegane



Series: ∞ Days with NagiRin [5]
Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, Captain Rei, Day 1- Nostalgia, Fluff, Gen, M/M, New Iwatobi Club Members, Third Year!Nagisa, nagirinweek, warning: australia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 11:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4389896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moeblobmegane/pseuds/moeblobmegane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>That was how, after they finished their inventory, the group ended up sitting in a circle around the small lamp Gou brought, much like how the original members did almost two years ago. Instead of telling embarrassing stories about them though, what they had planned was what Nagisa would like to call ‘Senpai Story Time’.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“We’re not calling it Senpai Story Time,” Rei, Gou and Natsu refused at the same time, which amused Nagisa to no end, and made Fumiki and Yuu laugh out loud.</i>
</p><p>Abiding by the <i>very real</i> tradition of going to deserted islands during their summer camp, Iwatobi Swim Club sits on a circle in front of their only light source and talks about how Samezuka and Iwatobi are huge rivals but also have a special bond that could span the ages.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Butterfly Effect

**Author's Note:**

> This is for [NagiRinWeek](http://nagirinweek.tumblr.com/)'s 1st day, prompt: nostalgia.  
> I've been aching to write a third year!NagiReiGou fic so I went ahead and did it. It kinda... got out of hand, like a monster fic always does.
> 
> There are three new Iwatobi Swim Club Members (baby freshies) I made for the sake of this fic: Fumiki, Natsu and Yuu. I hope you'll like them as much as I liked writing them ^^

** \- - - N - - - **

Nagisa believed in tradition and passage of rites. He believed in repeating an experience for it to be a lesson to the next generation. Which is why he asked everyone to join him in the deserted island a few kilometers away from their camp. That was definitely the reason for putting this in their activity for the summer camp, and not “because haunted places are fun” as Rei and Gou kept on insinuating to the baby freshies. He was very formal about it, after all. He asked Ama-chan for permission and even asked Goro-chan’s help to transport them to the island. They both agreed and definitely thought this was a brilliant plan. Everything made perfect sense.

So really, Rei and Gou should believe in him.

“The last time I believed in you, the next day there were posters of me plastered all over the school,” Rei said, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. “And they weren’t even _beautiful_.”

That was months ago! It seemed like Rei would never ever forget that one. Nagisa did it for _the good of mankind_. It was necessary!

“Yuu-chan joined because of the posters, though!” Nagisa turned towards the baby freshies, putting on a large encouraging smile. “Weren’t the posters effective? Yuu-chan must have thought they were beautiful, right?!”

Large brown eyes widening, Yuu stepped back and shot a panicked look at Rei before shaking his head vehemently, messy black hair getting even messier at the rapid movement. “They were very effective! Captain Ryuugazaki was definitely beautiful!”

Rei just looked unimpressed, already used to his team’s ridiculous behavior. “You’re shaking your head too much, Yuu-kun.”

Natsu and Fumiki, the other members who joined this year, watched the proceedings in amusement and laughed at their batchmate. Gou, on the other hand, ever the only logical member of the club and ever capable manager, was listing the things they brought for the camp and paying them no mind.

“I sent everyone a copy!” Nagisa said, laughing. He looked at Gou and added, “Didn’t Rin-chan say the poster was great, Gou-chan?”

Raising an eyebrow, she glanced at him for a second before turning back to their supplies. She sighed. “He said it was eye-catching and would probably work.” A pause. Then, she looked at Nagisa with a small smile. “He _also_ said never to trust Nagisa-kun again.”

Nagisa gasped dramatically, hopping to Gou’s side to poke at her. “He did?! That hurts!”

Fumiki crouched down beside Gou, finally noticing the errand that needed to be done. He simultaneously took the cans of food and piled them at his side. Hands working, he faced Nagisa with a curious expression. “Is Rin-san the one with the second fastest record in the region? The one after Nanase-senpai?” He looked genuinely giddy at the thought, bright orange eyes wide in excitement.

Nagisa remembered how Fumiki was the first one to apply for membership, having come to Iwatobi mainly because he wanted to meet Haruka. That was what he yelled on the first day they met, and it was the cutest thing Nagisa has ever heard. The moment he said it, Nagisa knew they would have a soft spot for the boy. (He was right. Fumiki, despite his shaved head and tall height, was definitely the baby of the team.)

“He’s the captain of Samezuka,” Natsu uttered with a bit of disgust, blue eyes narrowing as he also crouched down to help. Out of all the freshies, he was the most competitive one. And incidentally, the one who wanted to enter Samezuka but failed the entrance exam. He had also specifically chosen Iwatobi because of the swim club, saying that Iwatobi was ‘the only one who could rival and win against Samezuka’.

While it was flattering, Nagisa really wanted to erase all negative thoughts of the boy has about the other team. Captain Nitori, Momo and everyone in the other team were good people who spent lots of time hanging out with him, Gou and Rei. The Iwa-Same bond was stronger than ever, and it was the third years’ hope to pass that bond unto the new members.

“Samezuka is our closest rival, you know?” Rei was using his gentle captain voice, an intonation that was strangely reminiscent of Mako-chan’s normal tone. “They’re really nice people, and Rin-san, especially, was an important person to all of us.”

Natsu ducked his head, color rising to his cheeks. He was the type who wanted to always look cool but was actually easily embarrassed. Very similar to Rin-chan, in fact. “Yeah, he’s Matsuoka-senpai’s brother, I know. I’m sorry.”

Nagisa giggled, patting him on the back. “Oh wow,” he said. “We have lots of things to tell you.”

**\- - -**

That was how, after they finished their inventory, the group ended up sitting in a circle around a small lamp Gou brought, much like how the original members did almost two years ago. Instead of telling embarrassing stories about them though, what they had planned was what Nagisa would like to call ‘Senpai Story Time’.

“We’re not calling it Senpai Story Time,” Rei, Gou and Natsu refused at the same time, which amused Nagisa to no end, and made Fumiki and Yuu laugh out loud.

“So-“ Rei was Very Serious with his captain duties, so even in here, he looked at each of them like how the books on leadership taught him. “What we’re doing right now is a tradition.”

 _A-ha!_ Nagisa fist-pumped in victory, which made Gou slap him on the side to quiet him down.

Rei cleared his throat with a pointed look at Nagisa. “It’s a tradition we started on our first year with the first batch of members,” he said, completely glossing over the part where he almost drowned and where they were in fact stranded and none of it was planned. Nagisa won’t say those though, since he knew there were secrets you’re not supposed to tell your baby freshies for them to completely respect you. “We stayed in a small deserted island, just like this one, and shared stories. But I think right now, telling you boys the story of our friendship with Samezuka is more important.”

Natsu groaned, eyebrows furrowing. “Do we _really_ have to?”

Fumiki raised a hand excitedly like he was reciting in class. “Please, please tell us about it! Was Rin-san cool?!”

Gou laughed, sharing a look with Rei. Nagisa nodded immediately, answering for all of them. “Rin-chan is the coolest!,” he gushed, staring right at Fumiki and hoping he could convey how cool Rin-chan was. “Actually, he was the reason why we made a swim club. Without Rin-chan, I think there won’t be an Iwatobi Swim Club at all. He really made us love swimming when we were kids.” One look at Natsu and he could see the boy was getting curious now. Yuu was openly gaping, looking like he was hanging to every word. “It’s a really long story.”

“Too long for now,” Rei agreed. “Besides, it took me months before I heard it! You’ve got to work hard for it!”

“Right!” Nagisa exclaimed. “You can only unlock that story after winning at least one relay!”

Gou nodded as well, the smile on her face making it obvious that she was enjoying the moans of protest from the baby freshies. “But we have time for more recent stories,” she said, to soothe them. “Like how Rei-kun learned how to swim better because of my brother.”

Eyes wide, Natsu leaned forward. “He taught you?! Even though you’re from rival teams?!”

Rei smiled, gaze unfocused for a second like he was reliving the moment. "Yeah," he answered. "Rin-san was as competitive as everyone else but he really cherished his friends. I was lucky enough to be considered one." It would take too long to explain how Rin had a guilt complex the size of Australia and how Rei's one sacrifice meant a lifetime of giving back for Rin so the short version would suffice for now. By the looks on Nagisa and Gou's faces, they were thinking about it too.

"Rei-kun could only swim butterfly before," Gou explained. "But brother taught him to swim every stroke."

"So what you teach us...?" Natsu started, looking conflicted about it.

"All taught by Rin-san," Rei confirmed.

"Rin-chan taught me too!" Nagisa raised a hand. "We used to swim breaststroke and butterfly when we were children. Me and Rin-chan go way back, with Mako-chan and Haru-chan too."

Yuu scrunched up his nose in confusion. "I get breaststroke, but..." He trailed off, a cute little frown on his face.

"You honestly suck at butterfly," Natsu finished for him. "What went wrong?" His eyes widened a bit in realization of what he just said, but he did not take it back, instead staring at Nagisa with a red face.

Nagisa raised a hand to ruffle Natsu's dark blue curly hair. "Nacchan’s a really rude kohai, you know that?" He laughed.

Biting out a forced "sorry", Natsu looked right at Nagisa and asked, "But seriously?"

"I-" Nagisa stopped and frowned to himself, biting his lip in thought. Both Rei and Gou looked at him in curiosity too. This was one thing they've never talked about either. "Well, Rei-chan was taught lately and I was taught six years ago! So it's not fair to compare!"

"You _are_ friends with him, aren't you? Why didn't you ask him to teach you?" Natsu's lips turned up into a smirk. "Unless..."

"Did you have a fight?" Fumiki asked, leaning in closer. "Heeey, senpai, tell us!"

"Right," Rei muttered, suddenly looking thoughtful. _Uh-oh._ "You could have asked him." _You could have asked him anything_ , he meant. The third years knew how easy it was for Nagisa to convince Rin of doing anything. The ridiculous amount of visits, packages of sweets from Australia and weekly skype calls were proof of that. "Why didn't you?"

Nagisa pouted, pointing at each of them. "Today isn't about me! We were talking about the friendship between Samezuka and Iwatobi!"

"Senpai, I'm pretty sure this counts," Natsu drawled.

"Right! Right!" Fumiki nodded repeatedly, hands gesturing wildly for Nagisa to continue. "Senpai, please!"

Yuu was nodding as well, face showing earnest curiosity. Gou was giving Nagisa subtle nods, indicating the distressed baby freshies. In manager-speak, it probably meant 'fix this or else'. Worst of all, Rei had that sad frown that meant he was feeling left out.

Nagisa sighed. There was no way out of this. "I didn't want to be a bother," he said seriously.

"You?" Rei and Gou synchronized, their expression of disbelief identical. "Nagisa-kun," Gou crossed her arms. "You're hiding something." The three baby freshies nodded in agreement, as always siding with their manager.

"Mou!" Nagisa pouted, looking at their faces. "It's really nothing! I just didn't want to ask Rin-chan, okay?"

"So you secretly hate him, after all?" Natsu asked, gleeful like the little vengeful devil he was.

"I don't!" Nagisa exclaimed as Rei sighed out a "he definitely doesn't".

"So, why?" Fumiki was already wearing his pitiful puppy face, something he knew was effective for most of his senpais.

"It's personal," Nagisa ended up saying, throwing Gou a pleading look.

To the rescue, Gou clapped her hand to get everyone's attention. "Okay, okay, that's a story for another time. We've got another one." She took out a photo album from her bag, a shiny new thing that would distract the kids. "If it's the Iwatobi-Samezuka swim teams, we definitely need to tell you about the yearly joint cafe."

Fumiki and Yuu immediately crawled forward towards the photo album as expected, while Natsu narrowed his eyes at Nagisa one last time before following suit.

"Last year, the two teams gathered..."

**\- - -**

Once all the baby freshies had fallen asleep in their tent, Nagisa found himself sitting in front of the lamp, flanked by Rei and Gou on either side. It was disconcerting to be in this position, since Rei was the one Gou and Nagisa ganged up on all the time. Being cornered was a new experience.

"Heeey..." He squirmed, wondering if he could race to the tent and lock the zipper before Rei could reach him.

They both clung to either of his arms in a death grip, a move they learned from him in the numerous times they all cornered other people. He couldn't escape.

"You're hiding something, Nagisa-kun," Rei started, smiling deceptively sweet.

"Spill it," Gou said, in a much more menacing tone. "We promised there won't be any secrets, right?" When the three of them were left in the club, they’ve promised to always tell each other every problem and difficulty they face, to always be open and have clear communication that their upperclassmen were so bad with. It was natural to bond like that, after everything they went through together.

With that in mind, Nagisa had to accept defeat. He slumped down and sighed. "It's not a secret," he said quietly, still with a petulant tone underneath. "It's... It's not really interesting and the reason wouldn't make sense to them anyway."

"But it would, to us?" Rei looked hopeful.

Nodding, Nagisa went on to explain. "I really didn't want to ask Rin-chan about it. Asking him would just remind him of..." He paused, then shrugged. "Of _before_."

"You always talk about the past though," Rei argued, obviously confused. Nagisa loved talking about the relay and how cute and refreshing Rin was before.

"Butterfly is different," Nagisa answered. When he talked about the past, it was always about the relay or about anything before everything broke apart while Rin was in Australia. It was always the happy memories. It was always joyous recollections, never this. To clarify, he added, "I used to write to him, you know?"

Gou frowned, surprised at the non-sequitir. "Yeah, you sent it to our house so mom added it to our letters for nii-chan."

"Yeah, and in some of those letters, I asked him about how to be better at butterfly. He didn't answer that question. He just joked about catching butterflies with nets and such... I didn't really understand why until we found out about Australia."

Of course, ‘found out about Australia’ was a loose description. They _don’t_ know about Australia, not all of it. Because Rin was okay now, but there were memories better left forgotten.

"What do you mean?" Gou asked.

"His letters were short, you see? And he never told me anything about his own swim team or about his swimming..." Nagisa looked down, feeling a small ache in his chest at the memory. It was a sad day when he reread Rin’s letters and realized why they were so short. He wanted to scold his younger self for never noticing. "He never appeared sad to me. He always... He always hid it, and isn't that the saddest thing?"

Gou turned quiet, a frown on her lips, probably reminiscing about those days as well. Rei, on the other hand, still looked confused. "But he would love to teach you butterfly now," he said. "Why would he be-"

"I don't want him to remember that, just that one," Nagisa smiled a bit, fondly and with all the warmth he felt in his heart. "It's the least I could do for Rin-chan."

"Do you really think he'd remember bad things if you ask him? It seems..." Rei was still unconvinced. Perhaps because he hasn’t seen the darkness Rin seemed to bring with him during the first days he was back in Japan, or because he’s never seen how bright the light Rin shone on their lives when he first appeared seven years ago, Rei didn’t have the comparison Nagisa and Gou had, so he didn’t know how important this was to them.

"Even so, I'll restrain myself just in case,” Nagisa said, as serious as he could get. This was one thing he promised himself after everything, that he’d make sure to never hurt Rin like that. If he wasn’t ready to talk about Australia to everyone, then Nagisa still had to keep this one memory close to his heart. He exhaled a deep breath.

The atmosphere was too heavy, especially for them three. He had to change gears. He looked at their faces for a moment and then giggled. "Aren't I a good boy?," he asked jokingly.

Gou looked at him with discerning eyes, reading more into his words than he could ever say. Being her best friend has always had that advantage. "You're a great guy." She seemed to relax, a grin appearing on her lips. "Restraining yourself isn't your style, after all."

Rei nodded in agreement. "It doesn't seem like Nagisa-kun at all!"

"Hey!" Nagisa pouted, crossing his arms moodily. "I can restrain myself from time to time."

"Nagisa-kun, self-control is not in your vocabulary," Rei said, in a tone like he was explaining a simple fact of life.

"It is! I even prepared my bag perfectly for today!" He pointed to the largest bag. "I only brought necessary things!"

Gou rolled her eyes, glancing at the bag. "You brought three packs of chips," she said.

"For emergency food! It's a very important precaution!"

"And you brought a stuffed toy."

"I need it to sleep! Mizushimashima-kun watches over me!"

Rei raised his hands forward, stopping their argument. "Okay, okay, that's enough. Let's go sleep. We need to wake up early tomorrow."

**\- - -**

Nagisa thought that was the end of it. There wasn't anything else to tell and even though Rei did not agree with his reasons, he still accepted it as a fair point. The baby freshies had moved on to different conversations and were busy training with them or doing chores for Gou.

That was, until lunch break when Nagisa and Natsu volunteered to chop up some vegetables for the curry they were making. (Unlike last year, with Makoto as head planner, this year has a nutritious menu that Rei personally volunteered to cook, since his cooking prowess has been getting better and better with every recipe Haruka sent him.)

"Ne, senpai, can I ask you a question?" Natsu was looking down at the carrots very intently in concentration.

"Yeah, sure," Nagisa said, not looking up either.

"If you were training butterfly before, why didn't you continue even after Rin-san left?" His voice got quieter at the end of the question, seemingly unsure of asking this. "You could have just asked Coach Sasabe."

"Well," Nagisa chanced a glance, and as expected, Natsu's cheeks were pink and his eyes were stubbornly trained on his hands. "I didn't want to, either."

" _Because_...?"

"Because it wouldn't be the same," Nagisa answered easily. _Because Rin-chan was his teacher, and no one would be able to make him feel as good as when Rin-chan says 'you've done well' or 'you're improving'. Because Rin-chan was important and would never be replaced in his mind. Because he promised himself that he’d wait for Rin-chan._

Natsu hummed and went quiet for a few minutes, the sound of the knife on the chopping board the only sound filling the silence. And then, after all the vegetables has been cut, he looked up, a weirdly serious expression on his face. He cleared his throat and said, "So you had a crush on him or something?" It was the worst forced casual tone he’s ever heard Natsu use.

Nagisa blinked, speechless for a moment, before he burst out laughing. "You're asking that?! With that face?!"

" _What_ face?"

Instead of answering, he continued laughing until Natsu was pouting and red in the face. It took a few minutes before he could breathe properly again, and by then, Natsu had his arms crossed and his face showed how offended he was of Nagisa's reaction.

"What gave it away?" Nagisa asked.

"What gave _what_ away?" Natsu muttered, still sulking.

"My crush on Rin-chan," Nagisa asked as innocently as he could.

Natsu narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "You just laughed at me for asking," he said.

"I didn't say you were _wrong_." Nagisa noted cheekily. Natsu frowned at him, unimpressed. "Your face was funny!"

"Senpai is really weird," Natsu said with a sigh. Then, "I've been thinking about it since last night. Nagisa-senpai doesn't hide anything usually. It was very suspicious." He sent that narrow-eyed look towards Nagisa again, watching for a reaction.

“Oh? What if I really hated him, though?,” Nagisa asked playfully.

Natsu looked away, face paling as if he remembered something awful. “I don’t think anyone you hate could survive.”

That sent Nagisa into another fit of laughter.

**\- - -**

After eating the delicious curry they made together, they all sat down on the wooden dock at the side of the island, waiting for Sasabe to fetch them. Now that the stories and team-building exercises were done, they would go to the beach and practice swimming together. It was the part the baby freshies were all excited about. This was, after all, their first training camp in the club. They wanted to test their skills the same way their upperclassmen did.

The three were sitting on Rei’s other side, Yuu and Fumiki asking the older boy questions about swimming theories and his experiences respectively. It was obvious by the way he spoke and smiled at the younger boys how much Rei loved the adoring audience.

Gou sat down beside Nagisa, an expression of suspicion and concern on her face. She crossed her arms and leaned in to whisper. “Natsu is quieter than usual,” she said, in a tone that had an underlying _‘if this is your fault, I will gut you_ ’ in it. She’s taken to being protective of the boy, like how Rei has taken to giving Yuu book recommendations and tips on his swimming, and like how Nagisa has taken to giving Fumiki all kinds of stories about Haruka. It was the effect of having a younger batch in the club, and of them being put in the mentor-role, compared to the last two years when they were merely following after Haruka and Makoto.

“I didn’t do anything!” Nagisa preemptively leaned back, hands up in innocence. He didn’t _do_ anything. Maybe he said some things, but they all did it! “Maybe he’s thinking of what he heard from us?”

She chewed her lower lip in obvious worry. “Do you think he’s regretting coming to us?”

They both looked at the side where Natsu looked like he was trying hard not to laugh at something Fumiki was saying. Although he wasn’t speaking as much as usual, Natsu was watching Rei and his teammates with a small smile.

“I don’t think he is,” Nagisa said. “He fits right in.”

Sasabe arrived five minutes later, herding them to the boat and asking the younger boys about how they liked their first Iwatobi training camp. The coach listened with a huge grin, nodding as the three shared what they did.

To their surprise, when they arrived at the dock of the main island, they saw Nitori and Momo waiting for them. The two were wearing their Samezuka jackets on top of their casual clothes, and it was obvious that the baby freshies noticed by the way they froze in their spot. Not noticing this reaction, the two simply walked closer and waved at the Iwatobi Swim Club in greeting.

“Rei-san!” Nitori walked directly to Rei and bowed his head a bit. They were weirdly polite with each other, all formal speech and bowing, but they’ve forged a bond because of being two hardworking swimmers who became captains in their third year. Those two have so many things in common, and it’s Nagisa’s personal favorite thing to see when they have joint activities. “I’m glad we caught you in time!”

“Hm?” Rei was smiling but his eyebrows were furrowed in confusion. “What is it, Aiichirou-san?”

Nagisa tried not to laugh at the name, looking down just as Gou pinched him on the arm predictably. He’s always found it funny how Rei refused to call Nitori anything else but his full first name.

“We’re at our usual place,” Nitori explained. Every year, the Samezuka Swim Team swam in the olympic-sized pool at the sports center. Being a big and rich sports school has perks, after all. “We were hoping you could join us for a practice match later after you rest?”

Before Rei could answer, Momo came jumping right at them, landing perfectly in front of Nagisa with a shout of “NAGISACHI!” Eyes shining, he looked at Gou and said, “Gou-san! You’re here!”

Nitori cleared his throat, smiling at Rei and very pointedly ignoring Momo’s outburst. “What do you think?”

“Please go?” Momo pleaded, putting his hands together and staring at Rei. “We didn’t really get permission before today so we couldn’t tell you until now,” he added in a whine. And then, he leaned forward, smiling proudly. “You should have seen Nitori-buchou! He made the coach say yes!”

“Momo-kun…” Nitori was embarrassed, as he always looked when Momo was complimenting him without any shame. “I should have convinced him earlier. I am really sorry to spring this on you, Rei-san.”

With a fond smile, Rei shook his head. “It would be great to swim with your team today. Thank you for the offer.”

“No, no, it would be an honor for us if you could join us!,” Nitori replied.

Before they could devolve into arguing (politely) over who benefits more in this offer, as they would almost always do, Nagisa stepped in and said, “You have perfect timing, Ai-chan!”

“Right! We were just telling our new members about… well, about Samezuka and Iwatobi’s relationship,” Gou added helpfully. “We could introduce them to yours later.”

Nitori nodded. “That would be great. Come by when you’re ready.” With that, he dragged Momo (who was protesting that he could just wait here until they’re ready so he could spend time with Gou-san and Nagisachi) away to go back to their practice.

Nagisa looked back at the baby freshies and their looks of wonder. “Oh,” he said. “We forgot to introduce you to them…” The three were being awfully quiet, still frozen in their spot. “Hello? Guys...?”

Natsu was the first one to shake off from his stupor. “You were not kidding about being close,” he muttered to himself. Yuu and Fumiki faced each other and started whispering to each other about how cool it would be to swim with the Samezuka team.

**\- - -**

“WOAH!”

Fumiki was jumping up and down behind Nagisa, looking around wide-eyed at the huge facilities of the sports center. Yuu and Natsu were much quieter in their awe, but they were almost as wide-eyed as him. Rei looked pretty amused by their reaction, but Gou looked worried. Nagisa could tell this would be a really, really eventful practice.

“Welcome!” Nitori rushed towards them, wide smile in place. “It’s really nice of you to come.”

“No, no,” Rei said, shaking his head. “It was really nice of you to offer.”

 _There they go again_. Nagisa waved his hand enthusiastically. “Ai-chan! We’d like to introduce our new members.” When Nitori looked at him, he motioned to the younger boys one by one. “This is Fumiki, Yuu and Natsu.”

Fumiki was bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking ready to pounce and ask a million questions. He’s seen the pictures. He knew Ai was the captain and was a member of Rin’s relay team. At his side, Yuu was smiling politely, shoulder hunched shyly. Natsu had narrowed eyes.

“Nice to meet you,” Nitori said, putting on his captain expression: the one with a genial smile and sharp but kind eyes. Nagisa personally found it amazing how distinguished he could look when he normally was shy and timid. “We look forward to working with you!” His smile turned a bit more boyish, excitement clear in his tone.

Natsu stepped back, and the third years looked at him with worried eyes, only to see him with his jaw gaping and his cheeks burning red. Fumiki and Yuu were too busy talking to Nitori to notice.

_Oh, this would definitely be an eventful practice._

**\- - -**

The whole time they were being introduced to the other member, and even when they were stretching, Nagisa followed Natsu closely. When Nitori started swimming alongside his team to race them, Natsu sat down on the side and watched with eyes that rivaled Fumiki’s wonder-filled ones. By the way Gou’s eyes tracked the younger boy, it was obvious she noticed as well.

It was perhaps because of this laser-focus on Natsu that they didn’t notice the increasing noise from the doorway of the sports center before it was too late.

One moment they were looking at Natsu staring at the pool, and then the next, they were jumping out of the way as a group of Samezuka boys climbed out of the pool and out to the entrance. Shouts of “Rin-san!” and “Captain!” and “Nanase-san, Tachibana-san, you came!” overwhelmed them, so it took them a few seconds to understand what was happening.

When it registered in his mind, Nagisa raced towards the crowd and threw himself, without any care, as he always did, to the newcomers. The other people, surprised by Nagisa’s jump, moved out of his way. He only had a second to confirm the familiar blue, red, green position before his head was smushed on Rin’s chest and his hands were gripping at Makoto and Haruka’s clothes. One arm immediately circled his waist. It was instinct by now, to hold on to Nagisa when he was like this. He rubbed his forehead on Rin, muttering “You didn’t tell me you were coming.”

Rin huffed, rubbing at his hair affectionately before whispering, “It was a surprise.” He then gently pushed on Nagisa’s shoulder and loudly said, “Nagisa, let go” because he still cared about his Samezuka image. _The dork_.

Nagisa laughed to himself, moving on to tackle-attack Makoto and cling to him like an octopus, which the older boy simply accepted with a quiet chuckle. Mako-chan was his _favorite_.

The second round of introduction was much, _much_ more funny, because Fumiki was overly excited and Haruka looked like he was going to escape if Makoto wasn’t holding on to his arm. Yuu was sticking close to Rei’s side, watching the interactions closely and asking questions when appropriate. Nagisa never really thought of how attached Yuu was to Rei until they were confronted by alumnis. The younger boy was seamlessly supporting Rei as captain while also asking the alumnis about their relay team before. Natsu was uncharacteristically quiet, which Nagisa thought was because of the further proof of Samezuka and Iwatobi being close.

That thought was proven wrong when, after the other members dispersed, Natsu walked up to Rin and asked, “You were the captain of Samezuka, right?” He was trying to act big and cool, which probably works for Rin who looked confused, but merely made the Iwatobi third years laugh inwardly.

“Yes?” Rin glanced at Rei with a raised eyebrow, as if asking ‘what have you been telling these kids?’.

Natsu frowned, looking down for a moment to gather courage. “Why did you choose _that_ guy to become the captain, then?” It wasn’t an impolite question, not really. His tone was full of incredulity, making it evident that he was really intrigued by Rin’s choice.

“Ai?” Rin looked down at him, eyeing him in observation. “He’s a good guy, and he works harder than anyone. The other members know that. They follow him because they know he’ll do his best for them.”

“But he looks so…” Natsu scrunched his nose. “ _Soft_.”

Rin laughed. “He does. But like your captain over there-” He gestured to Rei who blinked in confusion at him. “He might look easy to handle, but he’s stubborn and hard-headed. And you’ve seen him swim, haven’t you?”

To that, Natsu’s cheeks turned red. “I- yeah, okay, thank you, Matsuoka-san.” He turned his back and started walking back to his other teammates.

“What was that about?,” Rin asked, turning towards the Iwatobi third years.

Gou tilted her head to the right and shrugged. Rei shook his head as well, not quite sure where it came from.

“Natsu has a crush~” Nagisa sing-songed, giggling. A look of understanding promptly appeared on Gou’s face. Rei and Rin still looked confused. “Isn’t it obvious?! Nacchan has a crush on Ai-chan!”

Apparently, Natsu was still listening in, because he looked back at them with a blushing face and shouted, “I’m not the one who had a crush on the other team’s captain, senpai!” He froze after, eyes wide, and then jumped into the pool.

“ _Oh god_ , Yuu make sure Natsu’s not dead yet!” Gou yelled at the freshman at the side of the pool. She sighed. “All these emotionally-awkward swimmers…”

Silence reigned around them as Gou walked off to check on the baby freshies. Rei was just staring at Nagisa, waiting for a reaction. Rin _still_ looked confused.

“You had a crush on Ai, Nagisa?,” Rin asked, once he shook himself out of the shock.

Rei groaned, looking like he was ready to throw something at Rin’s face. “Rin-san, _really_?”

“What?”

“I am one-hundred percent certain that Natsu meant Nagisa-kun had a crush on _you_.” Rei pushed his glasses up, as if that deduction was a very scientific process instead of common sense that _anyone_ could understand. (Except Rin.)

Rin blinked once, twice, thrice. “What?!”

Rei sighed, scowling before pushing Nagisa forward. “Nagisa-kun, if you may. _Please_.” The begging was mostly there to express how much he could not believe this was even a concept they had to explain.

Nagisa nodded repeatedly as he stepped forward towards Rin. “I had a crush on you!” It was pretty easy to say, especially since he never thought it was a secret. Haruka definitely knew. Makoto probably suspected it. Rei and Gou both figured it out themselves. The endless chattering about Rin’s cuteness and coolness and how he changed Nagisa’s life may have been too obvious a clue for them.

“Why would you have a crush on me?!,” he asked in a confused yell. _Why would anyone have a crush on me?,_ he meant. Which was the saddest thing, really. Until now, Rin thought he wasn’t worthy. Even after all the dramatic relays, all the hugs and tears, Rin still doubted his own worth.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Nagisa asked back with a soft smile, just as Rei muttered, “Why wouldn’t he?”

“What?,” Rin repeated a third time with feeling.

“Nagisa-kun,” Rei called him in a serious tone. “I think it’s time for you to tell Rin-san about your butterfly skills.”

Nagisa looked back at him with pout. “Hey!” He crossed his arms. “I said-”

“Don’t you think it’s the perfect time?” His voice was the gentle one he used when he knew he was doing what was best for his friends. It was honestly unfair to use it on Nagisa right now. “It’s not like Nagisa-kun to restrain yourself, right?”

“But-”

“Rin-san,” Rei called Rin with the same tone. “Who did you teach butterfly first?”

Without a second thought, Rin answered, “Nagisa.”

“There you go!” Rei looked smug about it all. He clapped his hands once. “Okay! I’ll leave you two to talk now.” He narrowed his eyes. “So _talk_.” He walked off before the two could complain.

“Being captain made him bossy, didn’t it?” Rin muttered, dumbfounded.

“Yeah, it did,” Nagisa sighed, watching Rei’s back.

“Wanna get some shaved ice and sneak out of practice?”

Nagisa looked back at him, at the tentative smile and the raised eyebrow. Rin was obviously still confused, and he wanted to know what all of that was about.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

**\- - - R - - -**

The walk to the shop was quiet. Rin was waiting patiently for Nagisa’s words, because he knew it always came out anyway. It made communication between the two of them easy. Nagisa would always speak out, that was a fact. And Rin, well… Rin would always listen. May it be a crazy story about a new mascot character, or a narration of a new movie they should watch, or a long anecdote about their new team, Rin always listened. It worked well for them, that system.

So when they sat down on a booth with their bowls of shaved ice in front of them, it wasn’t surprising that Nagisa blurted out, “Butterfly is still my weakest stroke.”

Rin nodded slowly. “And…?,” he prompted. He _knew_ Nagisa was still weak with butterfly. He never saw it but he’s heard from the others. “You’ve always been weak with butterfly.” He smiled a bit, remembering the way Nagisa looked when he first swam butterfly. He looked awkward and slow, but when he rose up from the water, he looked so eager about it that Rin couldn’t help but tone down his criticism.

“I-” Nagisa scrunched up his nose cutely, thinking deeply before he spoke for once. “I had a _huuuge_ crush on Rin-chan when we were in the relay team together.”

Rin blinked. That- “What does that have to do with butterfly?” He didn’t add, and _why would you have a crush on **me**?_ , because Nagisa had a pained expression earlier when he asked that. It wasn’t a good look on his usually carefree face.

“You taught me butterfly, and I really, _really_ liked it when you told me I was improving. So I wanted to improve more before Rin-chan came back to Japan, but when I asked you about swimming, you didn’t say anything, and now I know it was because you were sad, and I didn’t know _then_ that Rin-chan was sad so I-”

“Wait, wait,” Rin raised a hand. “Calm down.”

“But _Rin-chan_!” Nagisa pouted. “I’m _explaining_!”

Rin pointed to the shaved ice. “It’ll melt,” he said, even though what he wanted to say was ‘stop for a moment and let me piece together what you said’.

Eyes widening, probably surprised at himself that he forgot about food (which was such an abnormality that Rin was seriously concerned about this talk), Nagisa scooped a huge spoonful.

“Wait-”

 _No use_. Nagisa already ate the whole thing and dropped his head on the tabletop, moaning to himself. It was both a pained-filled moan due to brainfreeze and a satisfied moan of someone who just ate their favorite food. Nagisa was ridiculous as usual. That was reassuring.

Rin ate a small bit himself, letting the cold help him think. This was about swimming the butterfly and how Rin taught Nagisa about it but didn’t tell him anything useful when they wrote each other letters back in Australia. He vaguely remembered that time, about how he couldn’t bring himself to talk about his own team and how he joked around instead of saying anything about himself.

He’s almost forgotten about that. He hasn’t been thinking about those days, only recalling moments when the team counselor asked him about wanting to quit swimming before. (It’s been helping, talking to a professional about it. She said he should start talking to friends about it, too. Saying sorry was just the start, she said. Opening up was a way to heal as well.)

“I’m sorry,” he said, making Nagisa look up. “For not telling you anything.” Nagisa and Sousuke were the only ones who wrote to him aside from his family. He stopped writing to Sousuke after he accidentally sent him an emotional letter; a letter that was in fact about his insecurities for Haruka’s talent. He stopped writing to Nagisa as well, then, but Nagisa continued writing for a few months until he stopped as well. Now, he knew it was because of Nagisa’s own problems in middle school.

It sucked to know that Nagisa was one of the few things that cheered him up on his first year in Australia, but when Nagisa needed him, he wasn’t there to offer the same comfort. Rin sucked at being a friend.

Nagisa frowned and leaned forward, staring right at Rin. “That’s _wrong_ ,” he said in frustration. “Whatever Rin-chan is thinking, it’s wrong.”

“How do you even-”

“I laughed at your letter, you know?” Nagisa didn’t even let him question anything. He barelled on, not letting Rin think more; flitting into another subject before Rin could say anything else. “I laughed because I thought it was a cute joke, because I thought you were having fun. But I read it again and you were _so sad_ , Rin-chan. I didn’t notice it at all. You were asking for _help_.”

“I wasn’t-”

“You weren’t?” Nagisa stared at him in question, his huge clear eyes still the same terrifying mirror it was back then. It always scared Rin before, and now, he felt the same way. It felt like he was being seen, without any of the layers he’s worn to protect himself, without any of the smiles and the awkward laughter he’s piled up above the hurt.

It was such a long time ago. He wasn’t hurt anymore. He _shouldn’t_ be hurt anymore.

“I’m sorry,” Nagisa leaned back on his seat, offering a small smile. “I _told_ Rei-chan this is a bad idea.” He went back to eating his shaved ice, as if the past few seconds didn’t happen.

Rin took a deep breath and exhaled. Nagisa was giving him an out, gently telling him to don’t worry about it. _Opening up is one way to heal_ , he chanted in his head. _Open up_.

“No.” He shook his head. “You’re right. I might have been… doing that.” He sighed. “But we were young, and you were _younger_ than me.”

“By just a few months!” Nagisa interjected.

“Even so. You’re younger than me, and I didn’t face my issues before, up to the point when I almost couldn’t handle it. None of that is your fault.” He hated thinking of Nagisa blaming himself for anything. It was just not like Nagisa to do that, and he didn’t want to make the younger boy sad.

“I don’t want you to think of those letters as a bad memory, Nagisa,” he added softly. “You were _amazing_. You made me smile when I needed to, and-” He gulped, not wanting to admit it but knowing he should. “And I reread your letters, when I couldn’t-” He felt his eyes growing wet, so he stopped and took another deep breath. He didn’t want to cry. This is embarrassing enough. “When I couldn’t handle it anymore, I went to the beach and reread your letters. You told me you missed me, that Haruka and Makoto missed me. I didn’t think anyone was thinking about me like that, and you gave me hope.”

For a long moment, Nagisa didn’t speak. Rin looked away, trying to contain his emotions. He _would not_ cry. The ticking of the clock on the wall was the only sound in the small shop.

“Rin-chan,” Nagisa called him with his usual energetic voice. When he looked at him, Nagisa was smiling brightly. “You’re really romantic, aren’t you?,” he said, cheeky. “As expected of Rin-chan!”

“You-!”

A huge weight was off his shoulders, and Nagisa, as always, was making it easy for him to recover from it. He reached out an arm and ruffled Nagisa’s hair. _Thank you for this_ , he thought.

**\- - -**

It was only after they finished eating that Rin remembered the other part of their conversation. He didn’t really want to bring it up, but his curiosity was killing him. So as soon as they were walking back to the sports center, he casually asked, “What does swimming butterfly have anything to do with your, uh.” He cleared his throat. “Your _crush_.”

Nagisa peeked at him from the side, a playful grin on his lips. “I wonder~”

“Oi!” Rin put him on a headlock, the action so effortless because of repeated practice, and then, with a threatening voice, he said, “Tell me.” His other hand was loose on top of Nagisa’s hair, one move away from a noogie.

“Okay, okay!” Nagisa whined, squirming. “Don’t do _that_!” He stepped away from Rin as soon as he let go, laughing loudly. “Jeez, Rin-chan is so unfair!”

“ _You’re_ unfair,” Rin shot back, only realizing how childish he sounded after he said it. He forced his expression back into a serious, aloof one. “Anyway. You were saying?”

“Hm~” Nagisa hummed, tapping his chin with a finger. “What was it about, again?”

“ _Na-gi-sa_ …” Rin scowled at him, stepping closer again.

Laughing, Nagisa hopped forward, tugging at Rin’s arm so they could continue their walk while talking. “I think since Rei-chan remembered that I have a crush on you,” he started, looking at the road with a large smile. “Oh! I told Nacchan about that, by the way. If you were wondering why he knew. Anyway-”

“ _Why_ would you tell-”

“Anyway!” Nagisa waved his other hand dismissively. “Since Rei-chan knew about my crush, he might have connected why I’m bad at butterfly too.” He nodded to himself. “Yep. That must be it. Rei-chan’s really good at connecting those things. That’s why his grades are so-”

“This isn’t really answering the question,” Rin complained, elbowing Nagisa on the side as punishment. “Stop saying nonsense and get to the point.”

Nagisa pouted and elbowed him back. “Rin-chan is so impatient!” He sighed. “We were talking about Samezuka yesterday, because our Nacchan has some grudge against your school and that’s bad right? So we told them that we _love_ Samezuka and that our schools are rivals but we’re best friends too! So then, so then!”

“Hm?”

“I ended up mentioning that Rin-chan taught me breaststroke and butterfly too, like you taught Rei-chan other strokes. And then, you know, Nacchan was so _rude_. He said I suck at butterfly!”

Rin laughed. “Well, you do. He was just saying the truth.” He didn’t really know Natsu well, but he sounded like he had an interesting character. Anyone who could say that to Nagisa’s face is a force to be reckoned with. Rin himself never told Nagisa he _sucked_ , per se. He couldn’t.

“Still!” Nagisa pouted, pinching the arm he was holding. “You should be on _my_ side.”

Rin just rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay, go on with the story.”

“Then, Natsu wanted to know why I didn’t ask Coach Sasabe to teach me butterfly. And I said I didn’t _want_ to learn from anyone else, because Rin-chan is really good at teaching and it didn’t feel good when I practiced without Rin-chan. I told Haru-chan and Mako-chan before that I’ll just wait for you to come back so you can teach me.”

“Yeah?” Rin’s voice was quieter now, seeing where this was going. Nagisa never asked him, even when he came back. Judging from the conversation they just had earlier, it was mostly because Nagisa was being careful with him. Rin was thankful of that. If he mentioned it before today, Rin wasn’t sure he could handle it as gracefully as he did. (Not that almost crying is graceful or anything.)

“Yeah! And so Natsu said- Ah, he had this _really_ serious face on when he asked me, and it was really funny- He asked me if I had a crush on you.”

“And you said yes?” A little bit of his incredulity seeped out of his voice, making Nagisa laugh.

“It’s true anyway?” Nagisa asked, grinning. “Besides, almost everyone knows.” The except you was clear in the way his eyes twinkled mischievously.

Rin stopped and exhaled a deep, long breath. He felt exhausted. Nagisa was always such an exhausting presence. (But in a good way, like the exhaustion after a morning run or after an exhilarating race.)

“I can’t see how it was obvious,” Rin complained defensively.

Nagisa just patted him on the back, giggling. “Now, now, Rin-chan, that’s okay. It’s cuter this way!”

“I don’t want to be called _cute_ ,” Rin muttered to himself.

**\- - -**

The practice session was ending just as they came back. Nitori threw the two a look of confusion, but didn’t say anything. Haruka was frowning at Rin disapprovingly, probably because he just missed an opportunity to a race. Makoto, Rei and Gou all looked supportive. The Iwatobi freshmen, on the other hand, looked at Nagisa with betrayal in their eyes.

“Senpai!” Yuu was the first one to rush forward, uncharacteristically loud. He was all politeness and silence earlier, but now, he looked haggard. “You were _gone_. Ryuugazaki-senpai said not to worry, but _senpai_! I had to swim with those guys!” He motioned to the Samezuka team at large. In a hushed voice, he yelled, “And they’re _scary_.”

Haruka, Natsu and Fumiki went in front of them as well.

“I said I’ll swim the freestyle leg for Iwatobi but Nitori didn’t let me,” Haruka complained, looking at Rin as if everything was his fault. “He said alumnis can’t join the race.” He narrowed his eyes, obviously transmitting a _your school sucks you suck_ vibe.

“I wanted to swim with you, Nagisa-senpai! They didn’t let us swim with Nanase-senpai but at least with you and Rei-senpai!!!” Fumiki was the next one filing his complaints. “Nagisa-senpai, _why_ did you leave us?!”

“We were _obliterated_ ,” Natsu said in an irritated voice. “We didn’t even have a chance, Hazuki-senpai.”

Nagisa raised both hands up, offering his most apologetic grimace. “I’m sorry…”

Rin sighed and placed an arm around his shoulders, tugging him close. “It was my fault,” he said. “I asked him to eat out. Sorry.” He looked at the side, where the Samezuka team was pretending to pack up but was actually listening in. “Hey, guys! Can we do one more relay race?”

Nitori stepped up. “Uh, Rin-senpai, but most of the members are-”

“I’m gonna swim,” he said, smirking. Numerous members dropped what they were holding and raised their hands to volunteer. “Haruka, join their team, if you want. Rei, choose which of your team will join. It’s just one round. Be careful of what you choose.”

Nagisa looked up at Rin, grinning wide in glee. “Rin-chan’s really great,” he whispered quietly, only loud enough for Rin to hear. Then, he added in a louder voice, “Should I swim butterfly~?”

Numerous “NO!!!” sounded from the freshmen.

**\- - -**

By the end of it, Rin was panting on the floor in fatigue. Even though he said he’ll only swim _one_ relay, Nagisa somehow convinced them to have _three_. One for each freshman, he said. _For fairness_ , he added in his most righteous tone. By the look of his face, it was clear he was mostly working under the desire to swim more with everyone again.

“You enjoyed that, didn’t you?” Rin sighed, lying on his back and stretching both arms on either side. Nagisa was sitting crosslegged beside him. Most of the team has dispersed by now, and the Iwatobi team was outside talking with Nitori and Momo, probably arranging the next joint activities they’ll do.

“Yep!” Nagisa nodded. “That was fun! I missed swimming with everyone!”

“Thought so,” Rin said, chuckling. “You look like your new team is good though. Just more practice and they’ll shape up real well.”

Nagisa stretched out his legs, leaning back until his head was pillowed on Rin’s arm. “They remind me of myself.”

“Hm? What does that mean?” He could see the young Nagisa in Fumiki, maybe, but in Yuu and Natsu? Too different.

“Fumi-chan wants to swim with Haru-chan, for one. Remember that?” Nagisa glanced at him. His smile was that peaceful one, the one he wears when he’s especially happy but exhausted from whatever he was doing. It was Rin’s favorite expression on his face. Satisfaction and happiness rolled into one; that was the kind of emotion that should always be in Nagisa. He deserved that.

“You were so annoying about it too,” Rin said, laughing.

“Hey!” Nagisa slapped him on the side lightly before he continued. “Yuu-chan, you know, he’s the newest one but he wants to master all the strokes. I think it’s because of seeing Rei-chan swim, though. He’s got a hero-worship for _Captain_.”

“Rei must be proud.” It always felt good to be admired. “Wait, how does that remind you of yourself?”

Nagisa huffed, and when he spoke, his tone was weary. It was a weird tone from someone who was 50% always making _other_ people weary. “Rin-chan, I wanted to be a medley swimmer before. Though I gave that up pretty quickly.” He shrugged. “I still know how it feels.”

“You wanted to be a medley swimmer?!” Rin couldn’t even imagine Nagisa swimming backstroke. It seemed like the worst kind of idea.

“Of course!” Nagisa answered with a huff. “I wanted to be just like Rin-chan, you know? I even wanted to make a relay team and be the leader.”

That was… ridiculously touching. He didn’t know Nagisa had those thoughts.

“And then Natsu,” Nagisa went on without letting Rin contemplate his words, as usual. “Nacchan’s more like you, really.” He laughed. “Gou-chan thinks he’s a mini version of you, so she’s really protective of Nacchan.”

“But he reminds you of yourself?,” Rin prompted, since it looked like Nagisa was going in that direction.

Nagisa nodded. “Well, he has a crush on the Samezuka captain, for one,” he said shamelessly, and laughed when Rin flicked him on the arm. “Nacchan’s as focused on the goal as I am.”

“The goal?” Rin asked, half-expecting a stupid answer.

“Beating Samezuka,” he said, with a sharp smirk that was surprisingly good on his face. His eyes had a challenge in it. “After all, my dream was to be as fast as Rin-chan.”

Rin looked away, refusing to dig deeper into that. “You’ve gotta work hard, then.”

Nagisa laughed, loud and lively, back to his usual sound. “Oh, I will!”

**\- - -**

Once they were all ready to say goodbye, the freshmen respectfully bowed to the alumnis, thanking them for the educational experience. Fumiki then went on to pester Haruka about swimming one-on-one next time. Haruka didn’t look as opposed as he was at the start of the training. Yuu was listing notes and asking Makoto about what he’s learned that may help the club, and Rei was at his side, watching the scene with a fond smile. Gou was still scheduling things with Nitori.

And Natsu…

“Oh.” Rin watched as Natsu stepped towards him, all bravado. He couldn’t see how this kid was similar to him. “Need anything?”

The boy blushed a little, but squared his shoulders. “Take care of Nagisa-senpai,” he said stiltedly, bowed low, and then ran off to where the exit was.

Nagisa, who was apparently watching from the side, laughed out loud.

“You’re bullying the kid, aren’t you?” Rin asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I didn’t do anything!” Nagisa said, feigning affront. “He said that on his own!” He sidled to Rin’s side and giggled. “Nacchan’s so cute~ _take care of senpai_ , he said.” He laughed again. “Well then, Rin-chan, you gotta man up, right?!” He patted Rin on the back.

Rin rolled his eyes. “I _always_ take good care of you, don’t I?”

Nagisa’s expression softened. “Yeah,” he agreed quietly. _“You always do.”_

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in tumblr as [moeblobmegane](http://moeblobmegane.tumblr.com/)


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